Bunker debuts in Teen Titans #3 this week. Creators say the Mexican teen is openly gay and flamboyant. The online teaser sparked debate, praise and some scorn. Robot 6 has a good post about the early reaction.
Comic book universes are still dominated by white males in the pages of comics and behind the scenes. Bunker is the a new creation as part of an effort to make the DC universe more diverse. Bunker’s arrival made me think of the GLBT heroes that I’ve followed over the years.
I would have to say that Marvel has taking the lead when it comes to creating gay heroes. Northstar of the Canadian team Alpha Flight was created in 1979 but finally came out in 1992. With news of Alpha Flight being cancelled I’m hoping Northstar will return to the X-Men. In last week’s post I made my case for Jean-Paul joining Wolverine’s new school and team.
The X-Men family of books have always has a theme of diversity and anti-discrimination with several GLBT characters. Rictor and Shatterstar are boyfriends in X-Factor. Karma is a lesbian member of New Mutants. Anole and Graymalkin are young mutants still in training to be be potential X-Men.
One of my favorite titles is the Young Avengers. Hulkling and Wiccan are boyfriends but being gay is the least of their family troubles. Hulking is an alien wanted by two enemy races. Wiccan may be the long lost son of the Scarlet Witch. Avengers: The Children’s Crusade may reveal the truth about Wiccan’s parentage.
DC’s most famous gay characters are Apollo and Midnighter. The duo was created in Stormwatch which morphed into The Authority under the Wildstorm banner. Imagine Superman and a Batman/Wolverine hybrid as a gay couple and you have Apollo and Midnighter. I would say The Authority is for mature readers for the graphic violence. The two heroes were married. Apollo and Midnighter are members of the new Stormwatch.
DC is the only publisher to feature a lesbian as the star of her own series. When Batwoman was revamped a few years ago, Kate Kane came out and has been kicking butt in Gotham City. Batman’s home turf is the home to another lesbian character. Detective Renee Montoya was introduced on Batman the Animated Series but when she joined the book Gotham Central she was made a lesbian and made more butch.
Teen Titans #3 could be a book to buy for historical reasons. As far as I know, Bunker will be the most flamboyant openly gay character in a mainstream title. As for how out there, we’ll have to read and see. If you know of other gay heroes and heroines I may have left out – I want to hear from you.